PORTRAIT OF FORMER SECRETARY-GENERAL BOUTROS BOUTROS-GHALI UNVEILED AT HEADQUARTERS
Press Release
SG/2055
ORG/1285
PORTRAIT OF FORMER SECRETARY-GENERAL BOUTROS BOUTROS-GHALI UNVEILED AT HEADQUARTERS
19990614A portrait of former Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali was unveiled at United Nations Headquarters this afternoon.
The canvas is the sixth addition to the gallery of portraits of former chief administrative officers of the Organization, located by the escalators in the lobby of the Secretariat building. It depicts the former Secretary-General sitting in a white wicker chair on a balcony in front of the Nile. He is wearing a dark suit and a rust-red tie. The portrait joins those of former Secretaries-General Trygve Lie, Dag Hammarskjöld, U Thant, Kurt Waldheim and Javier Perez de Cuellar.
Mr. Boutros-Ghali and Secretary-General Kofi Annan attended the ceremony. Mrs. Boutros-Ghali and Mrs. Annan were also present, as well as the author of the painting, Norwegian artist Even Richardson.
Upon unveiling the canvas, Mr. Annan said "this is the picture of a man with the courage to stick by his decisions, and with the fortitude to stand by his convictions". He told Mr. Boutros-Ghali: "you led with a firm and steady hand a United Nations seeking to find its bearings in a world full of sudden change. You gave our work solid intellectual foundations in your agenda for peace, development and democracy. You opened the door to the reforms we are pursuing today. For all those reasons, you deserve the gratitude of all who know the United Nations to be indispensable and irreplaceable."
Mr. Annan, referring to Mr. Boutros-Ghali's latest book, said it told many interesting stories; but, he added, the portrait also told several stories in its own right. "It tells us of a man at home and at peace with his roots and his environment -- whether at home or abroad... It shows us a landscape peopled by one man and his books -- books that are also his life's work. On the spines are Arabic titles, such as An Introduction to Politics and -- further down the shelf -- International Organizations. They are works this man wrote himself. They are also the destiny he wrote for himself."
Those books summed up the life of a scholar and a diplomat, he continued -- from his start as an eminent academic to a distinguished political career, culminating in his leadership of two international organizations -- the United
- 2 - Press Release SG/2055 ORG/1285 14 June 1999Nations and La Francophonie. (For the full text of the Secretary-General's statement, see Press Release SG/SM/7030 issued today.)
Also addressing the ceremony, Mr. Boutros-Ghali thanked the Secretary-General, stating that it was with a great sense of emotion that he was standing at the United Nations today. It was an honour to have his portrait next to those of his predecessors who had built this great institution. From one Secretary-General to the next, the mission continued as the women and men of the United Nations and the Secretary-General were building the Organization of the next century. Continuing in French, he said that it was important not only to build the Organization, but also to know how to defend it.
The author of the portrait, Norwegian artist Even Richardson, lives in Oslo. Born in 1961, he graduated from the State Art Academy in his native city. He has participated in numerous one-man shows and group exhibitions in Norway and Sweden. Mr. Richardson is an author of several official portraits, including that of King Olav V and Prime Minister Kare Willoch of Norway.
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